The WORST episodes of Restaurant: Impossible
Every episode of Restaurant: Impossible ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Restaurant: Impossible!
After combating countless "impossible dinners," Chef Robert Irvine faces a daunting new challenge: save America’s most desperate restaurants from impending failure in just two days with only $10,000. In his new prime-time Food Network series, Restaurant: Impossible, Robert uses creativity and resourcefulness along with a lot of muscle in his fight to rescue these restaurants and give hope to the owners and their employees. Day one of the extreme mission begins with a thorough business assessment as Robert launches the restaurant into full service, closely observes the staff and kitchen, and determines their weakest spots. Then, he springs into action by updating the menu, retraining the staff and implementing aesthetic changes with the help of his design team. To ensure a packed house for the grand re-opening at the end of day two, Robert hits the streets to tell the community about the improved restaurant. Will the ruthless schedule, tight budget and ambitious task overcome Robert’s lofty goals, or will this tall order result in restaurant triumph?
#1 - Recipe for Disaster
Season 9 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/3/2014
Robert Irvine deals with an explosive family that's about to implode while trying to keep Papa C's Eastside Cafe in Fairport, N.Y., in business. Included: The owner and his three sons play the "blame game" rather than do their jobs; inches of grease and grime need to be removed before the restaurant can be reopened.
#2 - Holy Cow!
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/20/2014
The divorced owners of the Country Cow Restaurant and Bar in Campton, N.H., are on their best behavior for Robert's visit, but the staff and behind-the-scenes footage reveal that animosity between the couple is a problem that needs his uttermost attention.
#3 - A Big Mess in Texas
Season 20 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/2/2021
Chef Robert Irvine travels to Joshua, Texas, to save a failing Tex-Mex restaurant. Owners Carmen and Wayne are serving subpar food, and the environment in the restaurant is toxic. To top it off, Carmen and Wayne's relationship is in dire straits, too, so Robert has his hands full cleaning up this Tex-Mex mess and helping turn things around.
#4 - Big Ego, Big Trouble
Season 20 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/30/2021
At Soul Food in the Park in York, Penn., owner Audra makes up for her lack of knowledge and confidence by yelling at her husband; Robert Irvine and his team race to completely renovate her rundown building and help Audra overcome her anger issues.
#5 - Nancy Foots the Bill
Season 18 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/8/2021
Robert Irvine is in Geneva, N.Y., at Cosentino's Ristorante, where co-owners Bill and Nancy are struggling to save their family restaurant. Their marriage is collapsing under the weight of an unbalanced workload while their inexperienced son, Dom, serves unappetizing food. They need to make real changes and learn to respect one another if Robert is going to save their business.
#6 - Dirtiest. Kitchen. Ever.
Season 20 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/6/2022
Chef Robert Irvine heads to the Jalisco Cafe in San Diego and tackles one of the filthiest kitchens of his career; with endless obstacles and only 48 hours to turn this restaurant around, the challenge might actually be impossible.
#7 - Revisited: Out of Date But Not Out of Time
Season 17 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/18/2020
Robert Irvine returns to Paterson, N.J., to check on one of his most-unique renovations, Paul's Bar and Bowling. When Robert first visited Paul's in 2014, the family business hadn't been updated in decades. With the building falling apart and the owner stuck in a different era, Robert and his team had to make up for a lot of lost time. Now he's back to see if Paul has been able to keep up the improvements and ensure success for years to come.
#8 - An Abundance of Emotions
Season 9 - Episode 12 - Aired 10/13/2014
Robert offers help to the owner of Abudanza Restaurant in Wilbraham, Mass., a proud man with years of executive chef experience, but who is burnt out from the demands of the job and caring for a sick child.
#9 - Take It Or Leave It
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/3/2014
Robert offers to buy El Bistro in Titusville, Pa., after the owner, a single mother of four with a love of cooking, asks for help turning around her failing restaurant.
#10 - Bad Juju
Season 11 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/13/2015
The JuJu Bag in New Orleans is half cafe and half barber salon, and both are in desperate need of makeovers.
#11 - Sullivan's Grill
Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/4/2012
Chef Robert Irvine's expertise at saving failing restaurants is put to the test at Sullivan's in Fruita, CO. The restaurant is on the verge of bankruptcy and owner Ginny is on the verge of a breakdown. Neglected and dirty, Sullivan's needs chef Robert and his team to give it a new identity in the kitchen and in the dining room. Will the tight deadline and $10,000 budget be too much to save this failing pub?
#12 - Holding on to the Past
Season 20 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/10/2022
At Rest Haven in Clarksdale, MS, owner Paula's unwillingness to change is destroying her father's Lebanese restaurant and her son's chance of inheriting it; Robert Irvine must teach Paula to trust her son and her staff to save the family's legacy.
#13 - Villari's
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/19/2011
Chef Robert Irvine is in Palmyra, NJ to see if he can save a 60yr old family restaurant from failure. Paul Villari III took over his family's restaurant from his father 15 years ago and has watched as the customer base has literally died off. Paul has been unable to bring a new customer base in and has found himself on the brink of having to shut down this neighborhood icon. With outdated décor and a disastrous kitchen, it's a race to the finish as Robert tries to put Villari's back on the path to success. Will he succeed or will this be Restaurant: Impossible?
Watch Now:Apple TV#14 - Bring Mama Back
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/23/2013
After seven years of successfully running the St. Louis landmark Mama Campisi's Restaurant, owners Andrea and Lance were blindsided by employee theft: Two years later, business is spiraling and Chef Robert Irvine has just two days to address trust issues, frozen food in the kitchen and finances that aren't adding up if there's any chance of restoring this restaurant to its former glory.
#15 - Soul Searching
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/20/2013
Chef Robert travels to Hagerstown, Md., on a mission to save the Georgia Boy Cafe. The stress of the restaurant is ruining the once loving relationship between owners Chuck and Montez, who now avoid each other at all costs or end up screaming at each other in front of their guests. Robert also needs to address the heaping health hazards in the kitchen, but first, he needs to get the owners back on speaking terms.
Watch Now:Apple TV#16 - Windseeker Restaurant
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/16/2013
Windseeker Restaurant in Dalles, Ore., is suffering from years of bad publicity and negative word of mouth. Chef Robert Irvine has only two days and $10,000 to help owner Veta break bad habits, clean up the restaurant's image, and entice customers to this off-the-beaten-path destination.
Watch Now:Apple TV#17 - Living in the Dark Ages
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/20/2014
A BBQ restaurant with a caveman/dinosaur theme needs to be saved from extinction in Winter Garden, Fla. On Robert's to-do list is an overhaul of the decor, which consists of inflatables and foam rocks. He also offers tips to control the kitchen chaos created by the owner's brother.
#18 - It's Not Rocket Science
Season 20 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/24/2022
Daniel, a former NASA physicist in Huntsville, Ala., thought he could wing it in the restaurant business. His soul food spot, Mizz Juju's, has opened and closed multiple times, never made money and has no equipment. After 10 years of failures, including a broken engagement and spending his parent's entire retirement savings, Daniel needs Chef Robert Irvine's help to save his business, rebuild his life and repay his parents.
#19 - Slumping Sales in San Jose
Season 20 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/27/2022
Chef Robert Irvine finds The Breakfast Place in San Jose, Calif., struggling to stay open; the co-owners are burnt out and don't have the confidence to lead their staff; Robert must try to save their friendship and business before it's too late.
#20 - Extreme British Makeover
Season 20 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/26/2021
Expat Lee has lost all hope and is on the brink of losing his restaurant, From Across the Pond, in Colleyville, Texas. In a very personal two-day transformation, Robert Irvine tries to help his fellow countryman realize he's capable of turning around his 15-year-long failure.
#21 - Missing Pepper in Baton Rouge
Season 22 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/19/2023
In Baton Rouge, La., an owner struggles to keep going after losing her husband years ago. Over a quarter-million dollars in debt, Yolanda is letting everything fall apart in her restaurant. Robert Irvine must help her let go in order to save her dying business, but if she can't find the strength to become a motivated owner, she'll lose a lot more than just her restaurant.
#22 - Family Recipe for Disaster
Season 21 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/19/2022
Robert Irvine treks to Sylacauga, Ala., to visit Giovanni's Italian Restaurant. Grieving owner Chrissy is struggling to keep her family's restaurant going after the sudden death of her sister. Robert must help Chrissy rediscover her passion if this outdated restaurant is going to survive.
#23 - It's All Greek to Me
Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/23/2013
In the quaint town of Woodstock, Ill., where they filmed the movie Groundhog Day are cousins Angelo and Angelo and their diner, Angelo's. Their fathers started the restaurant 40 years ago but much like the movie, every day has been the same — the same menu, the same decor and the same family drama. Robert has two days to unravel the issues of this Greek restaurant and figure out why the cousins are dangerously close to ruining their namesake restaurant and all their fathers' hard work.
#24 - Up in Smoke
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/5/2014
Robert deems the barbecue bland and the management inefficient when he arrives at the Mill Creek BBQ in Redlands, Cal., in the Season 8 premiere, which also finds him helping to repair the owner's relationship with her 21-year-old daughter
#25 - The Sinking Anchor
Season 19 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/20/2021
Robert ventures to Louisville, TN, to help the owner of The Anchor.